The Midas touch

Stephen E. Braude's new book, The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations, isn’t even out yet, but a blogger named Jason Kuznicki has already taken aim at it, on the basis of an excerpt that appears on the publisher's Web site.

The tone of Kuznicki's review is captured by its title: "University of Chicago Press: Why Are You Publishing This Nonsense?" Skeptics are always sure they know what is or is not nonsense. Kuznicki is no exception. "I know nonsense sells," he fumes. "University presses, however, have certain responsibilities, including above all scientific rigor." Skeptics are always telling other people how to do science, even though few of them have done any science themselves.

The excerpt from the book concerns Braude's personal investigation of a woman named Katie, who has the purported ability to produce brass foil on her body. The ability is not under her control and the manifestations cannot be predicted.

Kuznicki dismisses the whole issue impatiently.

How does brass foil get a pressed or rolled structure? It is pressed or rolled. And then it’s applied through sleight of hand….

It is vastly easier to believe that observers’ minds play tricks on them, and that a woman performs some pretty clever sleight of hand, than it is to believe that this woman’s skin is vigorously pressing away tiny sheets of brass foil that are identical in structure to those produced on a modern metal press. It does not matter that we can’t explain every step in her sleight of hand. What matters is that, until better evidence convinces us otherwise, we must go with the simplest explanation. That’s what science does.

There are several omissions in this brief and casual dismissal.

Kuznicki does not mention the strenuous efforts made by Braude to prevent sleight of hand.

He does not mention that Katie was strip searched by a doctor before each session, and that the sessions were videotaped.

He does not mention that large quantities of foil were found under Katie's shirt – quantities too large to have escaped detection in the search, and too extensive to have been applied by sleight of hand while the camera was running.

He does not mention that Katie is not a professional psychic, earns no money with her abilities, shuns publicity, and seems embarrassed and annoyed by the phenomena.

He does not mention that Braude discussed the case with a professional conjurer, who said that manipulating the foil by sleight of hand would be extremely difficult because of its "clingy" qualities.

He does not mention the attempt by another conjurer to duplicate the phenomenon – an attempt that reportedly failed.

He does not mention that Katie has other equally mysterious abilities. Although functionally illiterate, she can write original quatrains in medieval French. She has made highly specific predictions that proved correct. And she has helped the police solve crimes - including one case, investigated by Braude and discussed in detail in the excerpt, where she facilitated the recovery of nearly $185,000 in stolen goods.

In other words, Kuznicki leaves out any and all details that would be harmful to the simplistic case he wants to make – that it's all fraud. There's also a problem with Kuznicki's conclusion that "we must go with the simplest explanation." Simple explanations are certainly good – but they have to fit the facts. Not just some of the facts – all the facts. Conveniently omitting most of the facts is not "science," but laziness. Conveniently omitting all of the most convincing evidence and then piously asserting that we must wait for "better evidence" is, well, not quite kosher.

As part of his post, Kuznicki refers to a positive review of Braude's book in the journal Antimatters. Here we find some other misinterpretations and one glaring omission. Kuznicki begins his assault on the Antimatters reviewer, whom he does not name, with this broadside:

Contrary to what one reviewer of this book wrote, science isn’t a myth.

But the reviewer never says that science is a myth. (Click here for the review; PDF file) Here is what he does say:

Braude dispels a widespread myth: that parapsychological data derived from formal experimentation are necessarily superior to data from outside the lab.

Which is hardly the same thing as calling science a myth. It's a recognition of the obvious fact that some perfectly valid data can be gathered outside the laboratory. This is true of many sciences. Try studying the migratory patterns of birds without leaving the lab.

Kuznicki then goes on to quote a longer passage from the Antimatters review. (Because it isn't clearly identified, on my first reading I thought it was a quote from Braude's book, but it's not.) He prefaces the quotation with the caveat that "the following critique of mainstream science — in favor of parapsychology — is wrong from start to finish."

Again, though, it seems as if Kuznicki has misunderstood the passage. The passage he cites is not a "critique of mainstream science — in favor of parapsychology." It is a simple acknowledgment of a blind spot shared by both mainstream science and parapsychology – namely, that neither has so far developed a satisfactory explanation of how matter interacts with matter. As the Antimatters reviewer notes, there are algorithms in physics that successfully predict such interactions, but the algorithms don't explain the mechanism. The mechanism itself remains mysterious – just as the mechanisms of psi are mysterious.

Bafflingly, Kuznicki jumps in to announce that "mechanism is conspicuously absent in most accounts of parapsychological phenomena, too." Of course it is. That is precisely the point of the quoted passage, as even the most casual reading ought to make clear. "In its place," he continues, "we get not the modest silence of the scientific method, but a noisy insistence that no one can possibly explain these things." Wrong again. Parapsychologists do not say that the mechanism cannot possibly be explained, only that it is unknown at present. (Some of them have made tentative stabs at a theoretical explanation, though not, I think, with much success so far.)

So much for the misinterpretations. How about the glaring omission? It concerns the Antimatters reviewer himself, who remains anonymous throughout all of this fulmination. Why does he go unnamed?

Well, maybe because he is Ulrich Mohrhoff, a famed quantum physicist and the originator of the influential Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Now, it's a safe bet that most readers, gauging the scientific expertise of an unknown blogger against that of a leading quantum physicist, would put their money on the physicist. Which is perhaps why Mohrhoff must be made a nameless unperson. If he were identified, Kuznicki's conclusions would suddenly look a lot less authoritative.

Kuznicki's review is a sadly typical product of the skeptical mindset. Rather than grappling with the evidence as presented, it omits the most salient facts and casts derision on the resulting straw-man case. Like much skeptical material, it exhibits what we might regard as a reverse Midas touch - turning the potential gold of exciting new discoveries into the worthless dross of preconceived, half-digested banalities.

The review does have one positive feature, though: it reminds us that Dr. Braude's book will be coming out soon – on October 1, in fact. Reserve your copy now!

Comments

[Jacob from Parapsychology blog]

This is a fascinating example of the Skeptic mind.
Thanks for posting this one.

[Leo MacDonald]

another sceptic trying to debunk a parapsychologist how scientific not in this case.

[Matthew C.]

I must admit the gold leaf lady story stretches my boggle factor. But I won't rule it out.

[Kevin]

I would be interested to see a comprehensive study conducted by psychologists on the emotional needs which compel skeptics to present themselves as stalwart defenders of their security blanket of "truths". Science is a method of inquiry. If a scientifically derived theory does not explain all observed phenomena, it must be changed. The history of science demonstrates repeatedly that even scientifically-derived "truths" have been superceded when confronted with observations which called those truths into question, but were steadfastly clung to by those with an emotional commitment to them. Honest (and emotionally secure) skepticism does not omit inconvenient data.

[James]

"...the purported ability to produce brass foil on her body."

Just when you think you've heard it all.

[william]

Skeptics and religious fundamentalists. Two sides of the same coin entitled "only we know the truth" or “our beliefs are thee truths”.

These two groups of people are the most “dead certain” people on earth besides politicians as they hinder both human and from my point of view soul progress.

The most fascinating part is most if not all of these ultra skeptics actually believe they understand science and the scientific method. Many have made science their god. Please show me an experiment they have conducted that even resembles a valid experimental design or one that actually demonstrates they understand probability and its relationship to variation and phenomena.

Neither side has a clue they suffer from a condition known as paradigm paralysis and this condition is alive and well in the 21st century. The daunting part of life is how much does our own paradigms affect our view of the world and hinder our own soul development.

[Ryan]

If the afore mentioned phenomenon occurs would it even be 'paranormal'? Of course, it would be a deviation from the norm, and a highly peculiar occurrence. But would the explanation not more than likely be a chemical one? Or was Braude implying the phenomenon is analogous to apports?

Please don't ask me to define 'paranormal'. I don't know how to define the term in relation to anomalous non-paranormal events, newly discovered physical processes, etc. But if the lady in question had some kind of extreme chemical imbalance then we probably wouldn't consider it paranormal, whereas if the metal was materializing we would probably use the term. However, I think these kinds of problems are a hangover from thinking of the paranormal as 'supernatural', i.e., considering paranormal events to be outside of the natural order rather than a poorly understood part of it. I think the latter term is a candidate for the most-useless-and-confusing-term-ever-invented award.

[Tim]

Kevin and William,

Precisely. This kind of thing is an example of what I've come to call Silverback Syndrome. A male silverback gorilla will kill its rivals, even if they are his own children, in order to protect his established territory. In the same way, people laboring under an entrenched frame of reference through which they view the world will viciously defend that frame even if it means lying, savaging friends, etc.

In this way, the supposition of knowledge becomes the deepest ignorance. One stops seeking and simply attacks. It's astonishing how these skeptics will lecture trained scientists with decades of experience on their statistical or experimental methodology. Would they do the same to someone experimenting in physics or chemistry? Of course not.

I really don't concern myself with the gyrations of the skeptics anymore, other than to laugh at and pity them.

[Tony M]

Fascinating excerpt. I remember (and mentioned here months ago) Katy being profiled on Unsolved Mysteries. Despite the credibility to the witness (the jewelry and marijuana stories were told), the 'last word' was given to skeptics who allegedly recreated the gold leaf phenomena with spray aerosol and gold wrapping paper.

It was absurd. For the skeptic's explanation to be accepted, the people investigating Katy would have to be willing participants in a ridiculous, pointless and dangerous (to their career) fraud. Worse, by not allowing the investigators to reply to the charges, the show essentially allowed them to be called liars.

The case (and the shabby treatment) always stayed with me. I look forward to reading the book.

[Ulrich Mohrhoff]

Just to say thanks, Micheal.

P.S. It seems our paradogmatist has missed a delightful excerpt from The Gold Leaf Lady in AntiMatters: a chapter on astrology!

(http://tinyurl.com/29wo8j)

[Ulrich Mohrhoff]

Another P.S. This time the URL (my name) points to a copy of this post at my blog, with some comments.

Warm regards, Ulrich

[william]

Tony m: I to find it interesting that the skeptic almost always gets the last word and then almost always only deals with just one aspect of the paranormal phenomena. It appears that we humans see only what we want to see.

Maybe that is a nice definition of ignorance. Seeing only what we want to see. Beliefs and our level of conscious development appear to have a tremendous hold on our view of reality.

This is why I moved on from Dr Hora’s teachings he taught evolution of consciousness but not reincarnation. He to allowed his religious beliefs to stymie/constrict his teachings. This is so common in metaphysical teachings.

We humans appear to always be in the act of becoming but yet we are already that that is. This phenomenon is a paradox of the highest order and I suspect of the most majestic magnitude.

Silverback Syndrome is a nice analogy to use for the religious and the ultra skeptic and the Darwinist and for the liberal and for the neo con and for the atheist and for the intellectual and for the: Well you get my point.

[drew hempel]

Way to go Michael! Yeah the "silverback syndrome" is basically from humans being visually-dominant, a trait that started in 10,000 BCE with the "symbolic revolution" researched by Cauvin ("Birth of the Gods and the Origin of Agriculture," CUP, 2000).

When humans switch to "inner ear" dominance for perception then formless awareness is restored as the true definition of "territory" -- something beyond spacetime!

[drew hempel]

I should add that the "magic-wand hypothesis" is modelled by the desire or emotions in nonwestern music. 2:3, the Perfect fifth is Yang and 3:4, the Perfect Fourth is Yin. Braud uses resonance as his model for how telekinesis works.

Consider Rustom Roy's validation of radio frequencies creating fire from salt-water (in the breaking news at Fortean Times). Rustom Roy held a conference on qigong "bigu" or energy feasting through fasting.

I achieved the bigu state back in 2001 while taking classes from qigong master Chunyi Lin who maintains his bigu state (literally "without grains") and does energy healing in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic.

Nonwestern music harmonics enables total transduction of energy through ionization (a violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle, called "autoionization" in quantum mechanics).

So by utilizing the natural harmonic nodes of the body, through a practice called "the small universe" detailed both by Mircea Eliade in his book on yoga and in Charles Luk's translation of Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, the sound harmonics resonate into ultrasound thereby ionizing the serotonin of the stomach so that it can bypass the blood-brain barrier. Electromagnetic fields are created which actually cause water to flow from the 3rd Eye down into the roof of the mouth. The same electromagnetic fields enable telekinesis and finally are converted into light for long-distance healing which Master Chunyi Lin does all the time at his Spring Forest Qigong healing center.

[Ben]

"As the Antimatters reviewer notes, there are algorithms in physics that successfully predict such interactions, but the algorithms don't explain the mechanism. The mechanism itself remains mysterious – just as the mechanisms of psi are mysterious."

Why is this a controversial point? Anybody who has read David Hume is aware of this.

[Ulrich Mohrhoff]

Ben: Hume notwithstanding, in classical physics the fact that processes are just transmogrified algorithms could be overlooked. In quantum physics the same sleight of hand simply does not work. Quantum physics provides a stronger case than Hume.

[poetpiet]

right after yesterday's 11:06 AM comment drew goes:

I should add ....

poetpiet splice n terrupts:

no you certainly damn well shouldn't have to nor should have, let alone should have felt like you should 'add'... and wouldn't have felt that way surely, if only you had any idea how repetitive you are ... oh never mind just kidding .... takes one to know one ..... we ground shifters and one trick ponies, intergalactic drifters.. .. .carry on)

by the way, how long has it been since you had an update about 2 people you probably both consider stargate conspirators
Dan Winter and Jose Arguelles?
Pardon me for noticing but you seem, though dismissive, to nevertheless have much in common (both regarding claims, interests and subject matters, methodology and who knows, career....) with them.

If you are frustrated they don't seem to weight the ingredients and aspects you have tried to bring to bear it is perhaps time for a different perspective, we are kings of hearts, the crazy fools trust us totally to bring it off unaided, singlehanded. I will convert all arm industriousness in the sense i intend it to be and you, .... well you.. .. . what do you want? Become a demystiner, a 'dominee' (minister), an ambassador to china?


Dan Winter:
http://www.goldenmean.info/heartvoice
Jose Arguelles:
http://www.lawoftime.org/GRI/rinri/rinri-III.4.1.html

drew continued:
.....that the "magic-wand hypothesis" is modelled by the desire or emotions in nonwestern music. 2:3, the Perfect fifth is Yang and 3:4, the Perfect Fourth is Yin. Braud uses resonance as his model for how telekinesis works.

ps: update your email adress goddammit

[drew hempel]

I gave the url for my new blogbook which, of course, explains in detail the problems with Jose Arguelles and Dan Winter's similar research. You can always post comments or questions there.... HA HA!!

[Ivan Lay]

Firstly: To put the Braude book in perspective, see Parapsychology by Rene Sudre, Citadel Press, NY, 1960.
On Katie: I saw the photos on the internet years ago. If there is "molecular teleportation" (similar to electroplating) the matter is conceptually solved [if one likes paranormal explanations].
See: http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:J1dj4A5jAcsJ:www.mysterious-america.net/experiment.html+%22Berthold+E.+Schwarz+M.D%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=20&gl=ph
What made me consider the Katie photos as real: I was studying neuroanatomy at the time that I saw them. I recognised that the "metal plating" on her face followed the ennervation pattern of one of the cranial nerves.

[Adrian Coombs-Hoar]

Whilst undertaking my BSc(Hons) Degree in Nursing i heard a very similar account of a person whose feet exuded what appeared to be gold dust. Their shoes constantly had a light coating of whatever this metallic substance was. As anyone in the medical field will tell you, the body does absorbe trace elements of all kinds of metal's throughout our life times. I suspect it is possible for it to excrete from our bodies in ways which would appear to look totally incredible, but only because we dont understand the processes behind it.
I look forward to the book with some interest.